Rune swords

Contents

Rune swords are created when a blacksmith brands a series of three runestones onto a silver sword. Steel swords can not be branded, they must be reforged, although the actual process for the upgrades within the confines of the game is very similar.

Branding runes onto a basic silver sword enhances the basic qualities of the sword providing a number of different options which vary with the selection of the runes.

Damage +45%Chance of critical effect: Knockdown +75%Silver sword with three Earth runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.

1000

200

Two Earth, One Sun Rune sword

Damage +30%Chance of critical effect: Blinding +50%Chance of critical effect: Knockdown +25%Chance of critical effect: Precise hit +25%Silver sword with a Sun rune and two Earth runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.Note: this is the only sign combination you can pay to burn into witcher silver blade by blacksmith during act III.

1000

200

One Earth, Two Sun Rune sword

Damage +15%Chance of critical effect: Blinding+25%Chance of critical effect: Knockdown +50%Chance of critical effect: Precise hit +50%Silver sword with an Earth rune and two Sun runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.

800

160

One Moon, Two Earth Rune sword

Damage +30%Chance of critical effect: Knockdown +75%Increases opponent's sensitivity to silver +15%Silver sword with a Moon rune of and two Earth runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.

1400

280

Two Moon, One Earth Rune sword

Damage +30%Chance of critical effect: Knockdown +75%Increases opponent's sensitivity to silver +30%Silver sword with an Earth rune and two Moon runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.

1600

320

Three Moon Rune sword

Damage based on combat styleIncreases opponent's sensitivity to silver +45%Silver sword with three Moon runes. Used in fighting monsters. Ineffective against humans.

The critical effect bonuses do not add those effects to normal attacks.

As of the Enhanced Edition, it is not possible to collect rune swords (even after reforging your first rune sword), a newly forged rune sword replaces the older one. This has been tested with the Murky Waters blacksmith and the Order blacksmith in Chapter V.

Only one set of runes can be applied to a silver sword at any given time and the resulting effects do not stack.

When a silver sword is branded, the resulting rune sword always uses the default silver sword model, regardless of the original appearance of the weapon. It is thus impossible to forge a rune sword that appears as the Moonblade or Aerondight models.

As of the Enhanced Edition, when a silver sword is branded, the resulting rune sword's stats replace the base sword's stats, regardless of the original stats of the weapon. It is thus impossible to forge a rune sword that stacks up Moonblade's or Aerondight's stats and stats given by runes.

It is possible to "steal" runes from blacksmith by simply dropping (selling is also possible) them during transaction, and later re-use them to another sword. Works same with meteorite pieces.